Hoppo-chan! Adventures ahoy!
by Mirinyan
Summary: When the small Abyssal Land Base was shelled and close to 'sinking', she was instead 'captured' by the enemy where she would start a fresh new life living at the Naval Base!
1. Sortie 0

_**Hoppo-chan! Adventures ahoy!**_

 **Hi there! :3 I'm just dumping a random story here which I might update from time to time. xD Even though I know there are probably tons of stories out there with a similar set-up, I'd like to write one too! Leave a review to suggest anything! This story doesn't exactly have a plot yet, mostly just episodic chapters with various silly situations and problems caused by cute little Hoppo-chan! xD**

 **I hope you enjoy it! ^^**

 _ **Sortie 0**_

She felt numb as she laid among the broken wreckage of her gear. Her ears could barely hear anything else except for the ringing after the last shell had hit her and her vision blurring up became more frequent as time went by.

Within her field of vision she could see her miniature Akutan Zero lying just at the fingertips of her arm and yet she couldn't reach it. Her hand wouldn't move; it too weak to move. In the end after trying for so long, she gave up as her attempts seemed to make her even weaker. Blinking, her scarlet eyes slowly looked up into the skies as light broke through the clouds that had covered this part of the sea for as long as she could remember.

Even though she knew what was happening, it didn't frighten her. Instead she was calmer than what would be possible for such a situation if she was a normal girl. Was this what it feels like to be sunk?

If it is, it didn't feel as terrible as some of her older sisters say it was. Maybe this was just a dream and she was about to wake up from it. Maybe she would be awake and she would be enjoying a better life.

"… _In a more fun sea…_ "

She murmured out without her notice, neither did she notice a shadow covering her until she felt gentle hands lifting her up from the small sinking island she had been staying on as far back as she remembered.

The one who lifted her up felt warm, evenly motherly as she cradled her against her chest, making sure she didn't feel uncomfortable even though the poor little girl couldn't feel anything aside from numbness.

She looked up faintly and squinted her eyes as the sun shone from behind the motherly figure, shadowing her face as they left the sinking island and sailed. Where was she going? Who was taking her away from that place? Why?

The ringing was now not as strong as earlier and she could hear a conversation taking place. Just barely.

"-shou-san! She's an enemy!" The girl could make out a girl that was probably in her teens protesting, most likely about her.

"It doesn't matter now. She is just a child now that we disarmed her and remember how frightened she was when we engaged her?" The one carrying her softly retorted, it was a mature tone and one fitting of a mother.

"B-but…She's one of _them_! What if she sabotages us from the inside?!" The other girl reasoned with a spiteful tone when she mentioned the almost unconscious girl as one of _them_.

"Then I will take responsibility for it and…" She could feel the woman's grip on her tighten slightly but still gentle and careful. "…I'll sink her myself…" The reluctance in the woman's voice was evident.

"As motherly as you are, this is slightly out of line, Houshou-san." A calm and stoic voice joined in with a slight tone of reverence hidden beneath. "And this was to be your last sortie before you retire to work in that _izakaya_ you built with Irako-san and Mamiya-san."

"Yeah! The admiral would be furious about it!" The previous girl's voice agreed with a more worried tone this time. "Houshou-san! This could get you scrapped!"

The little girl couldn't understand anything they were saying. What did they mean she was the enemy? Are they the ones who attacked her? If so, why are they rescuing her now? Thinking so much fatigued her and she couldn't keep herself conscious any longer. Her eyes slowly closed as she heard the last of the conversation.

"We'll see."

* * *

She found herself comfortably warm and covered and she couldn't remember what happened before she had passed out. Her eyes refused to open for the time being as she wiggled around to find a more comfortable position and continued her moment of bliss.

She could fall asleep again from this~

But at the same time, she couldn't. A slight breeze brushed her from the side and tickled her nose.

"Chs…!" She tried in vain to fight back the urge but she sneezed anyway, much to her dismay as she rolled over to the other side and subconsciously tugging whatever was covering her up so that it covered her up to her nose.

It smelled nice, a foreign smell that was sweet; something that was foreign to her as all she had smelled and tasted was salted by the sea.

One of her eyes finally opened slowly, finally able to see what was covering her. It was a thick but comfy blanket with a color that she didn't recognize. It was a light colored red and it made the blanket look more fluffy and soft than it should. It was a complete contrast to the red she was used to seeing; a color that only instilled fear and rage in her.

Her eye trailed to the floor-where if she focused more-she could see these tiles being made of some sort of plant weaved tightly in a criss-cross pattern. When she leaned closer to the edge up the mat she laid on and sniffed the flooring, it was yet another foreign but calming smell.

She suddenly heard something flutter and the sound of chirping and on instinct snapped herself towards the sound only to see something that surprised her.

It was then that she realized she was in a room. But it had a homely feeling to it and right outside the room was an environment she had only heard or dreamed about. At the edge of what the opened side of the room was stood a large tree with its canopy filled with flowers that had a lighter shade than the blanket she was covered with. Once in a while, petals would fall gently down and it captivated the young girl.

Next was the sky, it was a bright and lively blue. When she used to look at the sky, it would always be blocked by malicious looking black clouds that would rain a large portion of the day. But to see a blue sky like this, the little girl could only believe she was dreaming.

Another breeze gently swept by and rustled the tree and causing the cascading petals to enter the room. One of them landed on her little nose and once again, she sneezed from the tickle.

A little chuckle caught her attention afterwards before she heard footsteps from the left edge of the opened side of the room. Two steps later, a woman in her late twenties entered with a motherly smile as she sat next to her.

"I see that you're up now, little one." The little girl somehow recognized that voice and she blinked at the woman curiously. The woman only giggled at such a cute reaction and gently stroked the girl's snow white hair. "I'm glad you're doing fine now."

The motherly aura coming from the woman was overwhelming, the girl could almost call her 'mama' at this point with how she was being treated.

"My name is Houshou." The woman introduced herself as she adjusted her sitting position better.

"Houhuu…" The girl attempted to say her name only to slur as she said so, causing her to blush slightly.

"Oh my." Houshou giggled. "Good try there. How about you call me what you think would make it easier for you?"

The girl's small eyebrows knitted as she began to think of something to call the woman aside from her name. It was hard. What could she call her? She barely knew anything that could relate to the woman aside from being motherly…

Motherly…?

"M…" The girl murmured as she seemed to sink deeper beneath her blanket, the blush from before growing slightly redder as her gaze trailed to the floor.

"Hmm?" Houshou hummed curiously as she leaned slightly forward to hear her better.

"Ma…ma…?"

Houshou gasped as one of her hands shot up to cover her mouth in surprise. The little girl flinched at the reaction and her cheeks flushed even more. If one was to look at her now, it wouldn't be a far-fetched comparison toward a tomato.

To be honest, it shouldn't really surprise the woman this much. She was told that she had this motherly look and aura about her and all the carriers in the fleet had always viewed her as a mother figure. Especially now that she had rescued an enemy who looked no older than a four old with probably the same mind as one judging by how she acted from each encounter even now.

Now that she thought of it, Houshou wondered if the poor girl had a mother figure to begin with. If that was the case, she wouldn't mind having the girl call her 'mother'. Actually, she could even adopt her if she could. But she would need to ask the admiral about this…It wasn't just her decision.

For now, it's best to go with the girl. She smiled and gave the girl's long white mane of hair another stroke. "Yes, you can call me that."

The girl seemed content about this and it seemed she wanted to sleep more as her eyes slowly closed again. Houshou stayed with her a bit longer until the girl's cute little silent snores could be heard before she got up and left, pausing at the edge of the opened to take one more look at the girl before she left with a smile.

* * *

"So she's awake now?" A gruff voice stated more than questioned as he stood looking out the window behind his desk that overlooked the entire naval base docks.

"Yes she has, dear." Houshou replied cheerily.

"I see." The man turned around, revealing a scar that crossed just below his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, barely missing them and a graying beard. He wore a battle hardened expression; stoic and serious that offered no jokes. He seemed to be in his late fifties. His eyes glanced at the ring on Houshou's hand and his eyes seemed to have softened.

"Oh and good news dear~"

That caught his attention as he looked up.

"Apparently, she likes to call me 'mother'."

The man choked on air as he heard that, causing Houshou to quickly walk over and look over him in worry. He waved her off dismissively as he regained his composure and stood back up before staring straight at nothing.

"…Admiral?" Houshou's concerned tone caught him before he got lost in his own thoughts before he looked back at her and cleared his throat.

"Houshou, please repeat what you just said. I think I misheard you." He started slowly, unsure and completely fearing what he had heard just minutes prior. "You just said that she called you _'mother'_?"

The woman just nodded with probably the second most happy smile he had seen since the wedding a few months back.

He froze.

"…Dear? Are you alright?"

Just then, the doors to the office burst open as if a breach was happening and in sprinted in Tenryuu, Akatsuki, Hibiki and Ikazuchi.

"ADMIRAL!"

"Hm?" The admiral was slightly startled by the sudden entrance of the four but his composure didn't seem to have changed at all. He let out a small cough and turned to the panting ship girls. "What is it?" He then noticed the last sister of the Akatsuki-class wasn't present. "Where's Inazuma?"

"S-she's…" The light cruiser panted out as she rested her palms on top of her knees, supporting her up. "She's…Held captive by an Abyssal…"

" _What?!_ " The admiral almost gawked at the news, he was certain he had seen their return from the expedition just earlier today and had made sure they were all there.

"An Abyssal had somehow infiltrated our base…" Tenryuu continued, her eyepatch was slightly pulsing in worry. "P-permission to equip our ship gear to engage and rescue Inazuma."

"W-where in the base?" The man enquired as he walked towards a shelf where various items and books were displayed.

"In the Destroyers' dorm. Everyone around the area are panicking like mad!" The light cruiser requested as they watched the admiral lift up a sheathed katana from the shelf.

"W-We have to save Inazuma-chan!" Ikazuchi pleaded.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Akatsuki agreed as she nodded her head frantically. Hibiki nodded as well in a calmer manner.

All the while, Houshou watched by the admiral's desk with a worried look. An Abyssal? Here in the base? How? She watched as the admiral calmly walked away from the shelf and headed towards the doorway with the other girls parting way for him.

"I'll handle it this time. This is my base, my responsibility." The man gruffly stated before turning out of sight with the girls following close behind.

Houshou wasn't exactly sure of what to do. She had been retired from ship duties and her new restaurant wasn't going to open for another two hours. It was early in the morning after all. She glanced at the morning tea she had brought in for the admiral before deciding that the tea will be cold by the time this situation was over so she decided to bring it back to Mamiya's and Irako's kitchen.

Come to think of it, she could bring something for the little girl to have a snack on.

It was then it hit her.

 _It's that little one!_

Quickly, she set the tray down and rushed her way out the headquarters before meeting up with the group halfway towards the dorm. They insisted that she didn't need to come but stubbornly refused and insisted in following.

They soon reached the dormitories for the destroyers not long afterwards, all the destroyers that were not on sortie were outside with worried looks.

"A-Admiral!" Fubuki was the first to spot the admiral and the rest of Destroyer Division Six following behind him along with Houshou. "There's an Abyssal in the dorms!"

"I know." Was the curt answer the admiral gave. It was only during dire situations when the admiral use this kind of tone and Houshou was slightly worried about it. The man turned to her and soften his gaze as he stopped in his steps. "Maybe you should stay outside just in case."

"No." A simple answer with a serious face was all that was needed and they entered the dorm followed by the massive amount of curious ship girls that had gathered around the dormitories during the commotion.

As they reached the third floor, they could hear Inazuma whining down the hall.

" _Nooo…Don't pull it nanodesu~!_ "

What came next was the sound of fabric tearing and that was the cue for them to rush towards the room where the four Akatsuki sisters stayed at.

They rushed past the dorm rooms…

301…

302…

Until finally they reached the sixth room where they heard Inazuma. With a quick breach, the admiral kicked the door in and rushed in with his blade unsheathed ready to face the dangerous foe-

…..

"Hawawawa!" Inazuma cowered as she stepped back slightly in surprise from the admiral's breach. She was in her light green pajamas hugging a smaller girl in front of her like a teddy bear. The small girl was still clutching the torn-off light blue window curtains with both hands as she examined it with curiosity. "A-admiral!"

"Inazuma!" Akatsuki and the rest of her sisters dashed in before they stopped and gaped. "W-Wha…What are you doing?!" The eldest pointed at Inazuma in an exaggerated manner.

"A-ah…" The youngest sister's gaze trailed down towards the smaller girl who looked back up with her cute scarlet eyes. "Funyaaa~!"

She squeaked in surprise and accidentally let go of the small girl who fell and landed face first on the tatami mats with a thump. Inazuma regretted it as she quickly sat the little Abyssal up only to see the young girl tearing up.

"Hawawawa!" The poor destroyer had no idea how to approach this situation. Why did she even sit the little girl back up right?

The admiral could only stare in confusion with his blade only a quarter out of its sheath. Houshou on the other hand immediately rushed towards the little girl and knelt in front of her just as she began to cry.

"Uwaaaaahhh~" The girl cried as Houshou tried to soothe her by placing her on her lap and hugging her in a motherly fashion. "Mamaaa!"

"H-Houshou-san?!" All the girls save for the admiral gaped at the retired light carrier as if she had grown a new head.

"There there…" The woman cooed as the little girl slowly calmed down before she shared a look with the admiral.

Knowing what was happening, the admiral sheathed his katana and adjusted his naval cap to the girls' incredulous looks and turned to face them. He looked a bit calmer than earlier and sighed before looking up again.

This was going to be hard to explain…

"Everyone, meet outside in the parade grounds. _Now_." The admiral ordered and the words were passed on quickly and all the girls present immediately obeyed and rushed to the parade grounds of the base.

As the girls left, he turned back to Houshou who was now carrying the little Abyssal girl in her arms while she clung onto her scarlet Kimono while still sniffling. He walked up to her and took a closer look at the young girl.

But the girl was too afraid and she quickly hid her face in her 'mother's' chest and tightening her grip on the fabric. For a slight reason there was a sudden air of gloom over the admiral after the rejection but Houshou merely giggled before they left the room as well.

"Have you figured out how to explain this to them?" Houshou asked as they walked down the stairs quietly. Apparently the little one fell asleep again.

"Not quite but I will manage to somehow." He answered with a gruff tone before sighing. "I'm more concerned on what would happen next." He turned to look over his shoulder at his wife and the child in her arms with worry. "For sure they would protest about you keeping her around."

"You know…" The light carrier began as they reached the second floor. "Aside from opening up a restaurant, I also wondered what it was like to raise an actual child of my own. I mean I still see the girls here as my daughters as well, especially the carriers but…"

"Don't worry. I understand." He sighed as they finally reached the ground floor. "Since she's stripped of any armaments and now living as just a normal girl, it shouldn't be any harm. Plus, we have actually did multiple checks on her already for a week or so before we even returned her here."

A relieved and gentle smile graced her lips. "Thank you."

They exited the dormitory and proceeded their walk to the parade grounds. Not far ahead, they could see all the girls lined up in the middle of the field. The two could tell the girls were already gossiping and discussing what happened earlier and the admiral grimaced.

"They'll listen." Houshou assured as she reached and gave the admiral's dry hand a reassuring squeeze. "You've been taking care of them so long already."

"I hope so…" He wasn't as confident as it seemed.

Once they reached the parade grounds, everyone stopped their whispering and straightened their stances. Some of them couldn't help but gawk at the sight of Houshou holding the little Abyssal while said girl was asleep.

The admiral stopped in front of the entire fleet, including the ones that just came back from sortie. Their eyes demanded an explanation on what has happened and that was what the admiral was about to do…

…Except he didn't quite explain it and instead announced something unbelievable.

"Attention!"

They all stood even straighter at the command and their eyes were immediately torn from the sight of Houshou stand just a bit behind the admiral with a child Abyssal towards the man himself.

"I would like all of you to welcome a new member of the fleet!"

Everyone gaped and Houshou stepped forward beside the admiral.

" _Hoppousei-Ki_ …." The admiral trailed off as he looked at his wife and possible adopted daughter...Although he wasn't quite sure if her original designation by the military was a good choice of name for her.

The 'mother' gave him a questioning look before he switched down to look at the small girl and an idea popped in his head.

"Ah!" He abruptly had an eureka moment before he face the fleet again and with a stoic expression and loud voice, he announced:

"Hoppo-chan!"

…

…

…

"Eh…?"

"E-Eeeh..?!"

"EEEEEHHHHHHHH?!"


	2. Sortie 1

_**Hoppo-chan! Adventures ahoy!**_

 _ **Hi~ Sorry for the late update. I've been busy! But don't worry! I'll update whenever I can though I can't really promise that the next part would be out any time soon! x.x Anyway, I hope you like this part 1 of a 3-part 'arc' (I guess? xD) between Ryuujou and Hoppo~ Don't worry! Nagato arc is planned but not so early! I'll also be accepting requests after a while as to who Hoppo-chan would spend time with next after a few more chapters!**_

 _ **Sortie 1~**_

A week had pass by since the announcement that took the entire fleet at the Naval Base by surprise (Save for the few that were involved in the capturing) and many were still wary of the little Abyssal Princess that was almost always seen with the retired Light Aircraft Carrier who had been considered a mother figure to a portion of the ship girls.

Most of the time, the girl and Houshou would stay inside the retired carrier's home within the Naval Base that also served as an Izakaya where the ship girls could relax about in.

It was one of those days today as the young girl was out in the back garden roaming around to satisfy her curiosity. Instead of the white dress she wore, the carrier 'mother' had her put on a small light blue Kimono with her white hair tied in a high pony tail.

She didn't mind a change of clothing, it was refreshing from always wearing that same dress all the time….Although now that she thought of it, the white dress was pretty damaged and ragged. Her 'mama' had assured her that she would fix it soon so in the meantime, she would have to wear what she was given.

Blinking, the young girl noticed a butterfly resting on a leaf nearby while flapping its wings lazily. Curious, the girl crept up to the little creature before an idea of capturing it popped in her head and she immediately used her hands to do so. But the butterfly escaped and fluttered above her, making the girl pout cutely.

Houshou chuckled from the open hallway as she sat and enjoyed the spring breeze blowing by. The sight of the girl in front of her was definitely different from the one she had faced nearly two weeks ago. The constant fear and hostility was replaced with curiosity and childish glee that it made Houshou almost forget that her adopted 'daughter' was an Abyssal Princess.

"Houshou-san!" A voice called out from the front of the Izakaya, catching the Light Carrier's attention. She took another glance at the little girl that was still stubbornly chasing the butterfly and smiled before she responded to the voice and headed out to greet the visitor.

But she didn't notice the light humming of a plane that flew over the fence as she left the back of the house. Hoppo on the other hand stopped what she was doing and immediately looked towards the source of the sound, spotting a dark green plane the size of a toy sloppily descending down.

She followed it until it crashed into a bush.

"….Reppu."

* * *

"Oh, the Admiral needs me for something?" Houshou repeated what the small destroyer in front of her had said.

"Yes, Houshou-san. It was something about the list of orders you made to supply your Izakaya…" The destroyer trailed off as her eyes looked behind the retired Light Carrier, spotting the captured Abyssal who was clutching onto the hem of Houshou's skirt while the in the other arm, she was hugging a…Fighter?

The little Princess stared at her curiously with those large round scarlet eyes, making the destroyer slightly uncomfortable from it. Her blue eyes avoided the girl and continued to look elsewhere.

"Shigure-san?"

"Wha-What? Oh! Right, sorry!" Snapping back to the subject she was here for, she shook her head before she continued. "The Admiral wanted to go over the deliveries arriving today with you-"

"AH! My Zero!"

They looked towards the source of the outburst and had forgotten the conversation for a second, seeing a short girl running up to them. Sporting a short maroon coat that resembled a small kariginu over a white dress shirt with a red magatama hung around her neck. A visor-cap resembling a ship's bow rested on her long pigtailed brown hair.

"Ryuujou-san?" Houshou blinked as she watched the new arrival screech to a halt as soon as she reached them.

"That's my Zero!" The short girl shouted as she pointed an accusing finger at the little abyssal who cocked her head in question while clutching the plane to her chest like how one would with a teddy bear.

The motherly retired Light Carrier hummed before looking down to see the young girl under her care standing right next to her. The little Princess looked back before raising the plane towards her new 'mother' as if showing off a toy.

"Reppu…" She murmured with her small voice.

Houshou smiled lightly before picking the small girl up. "Now, Hoppo-chan where did you find that?"

The girl responded by pointing back at the house.

"Oh…So it crash-landed in the garden. Oh dear." The motherly veteran mumbled before looking back at Hoppo. "Is the fairy alright?"

As if on cue, the cockpit of the plane opened up and out stumbled the fairy with swirling eyes, indicating her dizziness before she slipped off the plane. Luckily, Ryuujou rushed to save the fairy from the fall, catching her with both hands before releasing a sigh of relief.

"Ara…" They all look worriedly at the fainted fairy except Hoppo who curiously eyed the event. "At least she's safe for now. It only seem like she fainted from shock." Houshou concluded when she bent her knees slightly to examine the knocked out fairy.

"Yeah…Wait! The fighter!" The smaller light carrier hopped onto her feet and glared at the small Princess who was still holding onto the pilotless Zero. "She must have shot the fighter down! Give it back!"

The little Princess blinked in question before holding up the fighter as if to examine it for any damage only to find nothing scratched aside from a small little wisp of smoke coming from the engine, debunking the Light Carrier's claim.

…

"…Reppu." Hoppo muttered as she looked back at her 'toy'.

"It seems Hoppo-chan got attached to it." Houshou giggled in amusement as she watched the little Princess continued to clutch onto the damaged fighter like a stuffed animal.

"B-but…!" Ryuujou was about to protest before she looked back at the little Abyssal, noticing how the smaller girl was looking at her with wide round eyes that seemed almost pleading. It was way too persuasive for her liking. "I…She…"

In truth, the little Princess was merely staring the Light Carrier down, unsure of what the seemingly older girl wanted to do. One thing was for certain though; she was not going to give up her new toy and her arms hugged the toy closer to herself.

"Reppu…"

"Fine! Have it! Mou!" The Light Carrier threw her hands up in frustration. Despite the fact that they were enemies, she couldn't stand it if she made a younger girl cry… Or at least Hoppo looks younger. Heck, even her behavior is no different from someone who looked like four. "This will be the only time I'll be nice to you!"

Hoppo blinked at that before she looked up to her 'mother' curiously which was returned by a sweet smile. The retired Carrier set the young girl down so she could make her way back into the garden before turning her attention back to Ryuujou.

"Thank you, Ryuujou-san. That was very nice of you." Houshou smiled and bowed. "Now, I have to meet the Admiral. He requested my presence in his office—"She paused as she remembered something. "Oh dear. I forgot I need to find someone to look after Hoppo-chan!"

Ryuujou gulped when the older carrier mentioned that and slowly backed away… Only it didn't seemed to help much when Houshou's eyes landed on her. That disarming smile the veteran put on afterwards really didn't give her any options.

"Ryuujou-san, would you be a dear and help me look after little Hoppo-chan while I'm away?"

* * *

Of _all_ the things she could do, she just _had_ to babysit someone. And not just anyone! An _Abyssal_ _Princess_ for Kami's sake! Ryuujou watched, no _glared_ at the young Abyssal that's basically giving her a blank stare.

Hoppo was sitting on the grassy ground of the back garden, her legs spread out and the Reppu sitting snuggly in front of her, hugging it. The staring contest didn't stop since the Light Carrier was 'asked' to babysit the little Princess and she doubted that it would stop.

Surprisingly, the first to break eye contact was Hoppo as she blinked and looked elsewhere.

 _That's right! You won't beat me in a staring contest!_ The Light Carrier smugly smirked in triumph but the young Abyssal ignored her.

"…Hungry."

*Froze*

 _S-she's….Hungry._ Sweat beaded down her face as her heart started to thumped faster. W-what does Abyssals eat? D-do they eat normal food like normal ship girls? They should because they basically are r-right?

Ryuujou gulped and stuttered. "W-what do you want?"

Hoppo merely glanced back at her with those round red eyes of hers. No answer. W-what's with that look? …She's walking towards her!

 _W-where's my gear? Crap I left them back at the Archery Range! Noooo!_

Hoppo leaned on Ryuujou's knees without even breaking eye contact as the Light Carrier leaned backwards in order to keep a distance from the little Abyssal. Ryuujou squints her eyes shut and felt the little Princess crawl past her. Sh-she wasn't going to eat her?

Popping an eye open, the Light Carrier looked behind her to see…

…Hoppo sitting next to a plate of Taiyaki, one of them already being eaten. Wait!

"Hey! Those are mine!" The Light Carrier stomped over to the younger looking girl and swiped the plate, using her superior height to make sure the little Princess can't reach it. Little Hoppo hopped with her mitten-worn hands reaching as high as they could but Ryuujou was just too tall!

"Ha!" Ryuujou smirked in triumph before she noticed something wrapping against her legs.

Hoppo hugged the Light Carrier's legs as she looked up at her with round eyes and a sniffle. Her tummy growled slightly as she hopped a bit more. It was…Way….Too…

Ryuujou sighed and lowered the plate back onto the tatami floor and sat next to it, followed closely by the little Princess who sat on the other side of the plate, happily nibbling on the sweet fish-shaped snack.

"How did I end up like this?" Ryuujou lamented as she stared up at the ceiling. "Here, looking after you." Her gaze switched to the little Abyssal.

"…"

Another sigh escaped her when Hoppo didn't even respond. As long as the little Princess was still around here, she couldn't let her guard down. Despite the childish behavior and looks, Hoppo was still an enemy. She much keep a vigilant watch!

She must stay alert!

 _*Plop!*_

"W-Whaa-?!"

Stammering, the Light Carrier froze in place as soon as she realized the little Abyssal plopped herself down onto her lap. Hoppo turned to look over her shoulder at Ryuujou with a cute questioning look before she went back to nibbling at her sweet snack.

Poor Ryuujou could only stammer while her brain tried to process what just happened.

D-did the Princess decided to use _her_ as a seat?! Was she trying to intimidate her?! W-what's going on here?!

Little Hoppo merely continued to finish off her little snack while the Light Carrier fainted on spot. The sudden thud from behind her caught her attention to the sight of a fainted Ryuujou with swirls as eyes.

"…Sunk?"


	3. Sortie 2

_**Hiya! Sorry for the extreeeeeeemely late update. This story will probably be in indefinite hiatus for the time being because I have a lot of things I need to do. Sorry everyone! Don't worry though, I'll definitely come back to this soon! Originally, there was going to be more to this chapter...At least up to probably 4000 or so words but I've had a huuuuge Writer's Block and tons of college work and family stuff to take care of the past year. ;-;**_

 _ **Again, I'm terribly sorry! I hope you enjoy what was already written before I had the Writer's Block and now the indefinite hiatus though!**_

 _ **Oh! Happy Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!**_

 _ **-Vicky~ (nanodesu!)**_

 _ **Hoppo-chan! Adventures ahoy!**_

 _ **Sortie 2~**_

 _Wha….What happened…?_ Ryuujou groaned as her eyes opened and blinked away the blurriness. The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was…

…

There's no weight on her like she was expecting. She bolted back up to a sitting position and whipped her head around frantically, trying her best _not_ to freak out.

 _She must be here somewhere…! Don't panic… Don't hyperventilate…_

…Unfortunately, she was already hyperventilating, followed by a barrage of panicking thoughts. She…

…Had…

…Fainted.

"WHY!" Her frustration burst out and she threw her hands up in the air before that frustration turned back to worry and then fear. What if the Abyssal started causing havoc in the base?! Was this planned?! She jumped to her feet and darted around, trying not to miss any corners, nooks or crannies of the house.

Yeah… She's definitely not here…

"WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo…" She repeated and crouched down before jumping back up and ran right out of the house. "WHAT DO I DOOOO~!?"

* * *

Hoppo's tummy growled. She wasn't able to satisfy her hunger with mere Taiyaki and decided to go on an epic quest for food! Minus the evilness that were supposed to stop her epic journey or anything. Replace that with older girls who either avoided her or looked completely baffled.

Despite her being an Abyssal. Many had already gotten used to seeing her often enough to consider her not a threat…Only when she was under supervision.

Many of them didn't have any of their ship equipment on and were stuck pressed against walls or doing any means possible to stay _away_ from her. The young Princess didn't seem to take notice of this behavior though. She only notice one thing.

It was the smell of food.

So she waddled her way, following the lovely heavenly smell while not realizing she was causing total panic to everywhere she went.

"S-sound the alarm!" One of the girls shouted that sounded more like a scream. "A-Abyssal attack! A Princess!"

"Quick! Get to the Armory! We need our ship guns!"

While most of the girls were dashing and sprinting like there's no tomorrow, one of them looked around, amused by the commotion.

"Kitakami-san! Hurry! We need to go somewhere safe! There's an attack!" Another girl pulled at Kitakami's sleeve.

"Hm~?" Kitakami asked curiously, not giving a single thing about what was going on. "Ooicchi, doesn't this feel like the Destroyers are just overreacting?"

The other girl, Ooi, looked around and noticed that it was only _destroyers_ who were panicking and running around like headless chickens and calmed down slightly.

On the other side, the Battleship Musashi crossed her arms and watched with a little amusement as well…

Until they all saw little Hoppo clumsily walking down the middle of the road alone with a plane in her arms.

"Look out! She's armed!" One of the destroyers screamed and everyone ducked for cover, either behind lampposts or bins of trash, it didn't matter.

…

*Grooowl~*

…

Everyone peeked out from their covers at the sound of a tummy growling. Hoppo rubs her belly and pouts before she kept walking followed by more frantic calls and chaos. The two special Torpedo Cruisers sweat-dropped at everybody's reaction, even Ooi found this a bit over the top when one of those childish destroyers screaming that the little Princess will make them her lunch.

"…I actually feel a bit of pity for these annoying brats." Kitakami muttered, slightly amused as they watched the continuing frantic fleeing of the smaller ship girls.

"Me too." Ooi agreed.

"Well, I guess they didn't pay much attention to the announcement when we brought her back." Kitakami shrugged, gesturing to the toddling Abyssal. "She's practically just a normal little kid."

"With super strength." Ooi added. "But she's definitely not as strong as you, Kitakami-san! I bet you could punt her tiny little butt across Japan if you two fight-! Ah! Where are you going?! Kitakami-san!"

The more lax cruiser decided it was a good idea to approach the little Princess. It would be rather amusing, wouldn't it? Stopping the Abyssal and her 'march of terror' by standing in front of her, Kitakami knelt down to look at Hoppo.

Hoppo on the other hand curiously looked back without constraint and the two entered a sort of staring contest.

The light cruiser grinned and picked up Hoppo without warning but the little Abyssal seemed nonchalant about it as she blinked. Immediately, Kitakami's grin turned more sinister as he turned to the nearest group of destroyers with Hoppo in her hands, outstretched and charged towards them.

"Kyaaaa!" The group of destroyers literally jumped ten feet away from Kitakami as she continued to use Hoppo as a means to scare the poor destroyers to death with an amused laugh.

"…Kitakami-san…?" Ooi looked on with her mouth hung open. Kitakami-san was _using_ the little Princess as a means to scare the destroyers and she was having _fun_ with it! She didn't mind Kitakami-san having fun but it was supposed to be _her_ who should be there making her laugh!

Laughing, Kitakami shoves the poor little Princess into another group of destroyers who froze in fright at the sudden closeness of the Abyssal. Hoppo wiggles her nose and scrunches cutely.

"…'ch!" She sneezed.

"KYAAAAAH! SHE SNEEZED!" The group of destroyers fled like their lives were on the line.

"Haha! This is fun!" The rampaging cruiser wasted no time and turned to her next group of victims until she noticed her 'weapon' was fidgeting. "Hm?"

 _*Growl…*_

"…" Hoppo scrunched her face into a cute frown as she wiggled in Kitakami's grip. The torpedo cruiser brought the little girl up to her eye level and sighed.

"Ooicchi~" Kitakami called cheerfully. "Let's go to Mamiya's~"

"W-what? O-oh! Okay! Anything for you, Kitakami-san!" Ooi snapped out of her stupor and jogged to catch up to her ship sister, suppressing the huge amount of jealousy that was just bursting from her like a volcano. _She's just a kid…She's just a kid….Role model…_ As if Ooi could be a role model.

It was especially hard to keep to herself as Ooi caught up to Kitakami. Her ship sister was literally hugging the little Princess like a teddy bear! It was both adorable and infuriating at the same time! _What right did that puny little Abyssal had to be able to snuggle so close to Kitakami-san?! Look at her! She didn't even look like she realized how blessed she was just to be held by Kitakami-san!_ Other various thoughts involving colorful words fueled by countless amount of jealousy were running inside Ooi's head at light-speed per second as she fixed a hard glare on Hoppo.

Hoppo on the other hand was as oblivious as always as she got used to being carrying around like a plush toy as her eyes wandered everywhere in wonder. She had been toured around the base before but it merely covered the main buildings such as the dormitories, warehouses, the canteen and the bathhouse where the ship girls were sent to either relax or be repaired. None of them really mattered to Hoppo though. Food calls. Food had all priority first and foremost!

The three...Well two plus one being carried, walked in silence. It was actually a lot more calm now that the little Princess was 'subdued and being escorted to the admiral' as some of the Destroyers gossiped. That wasn't the case in anyway, nor did it mattered to the two Cruisers who were handling the Abyssal. But the calm comfortable silence wasn't extended to the brunette Cruiser as her mind agonized on how to dispose of the little rascal that had taken away her Kitakami-san.

"Ano, Kitakami-san?" Ooi broke the silent walk, catching the other two's attention. They were scarily in sync as both of them turned to her at the same time with the _same_ head tilt.

"What is it Ooicchi?" Her ship sister stopped as she asked.

"If it's...If it's too much of a hassle, let me carry her for you!" Ooi blurted out randomly. She really didn't know why she suggesting some so atrocious! Noticing the weird questioning look, she waved her hands in random gestures, trying to salvage. "I-I mean it must be tiring to carry _her_ all the way to Mamiya's! L-let me try holding her f-for once..."

Ooi felt like an idiot. Really, flustering over this. But her resolve remains! She would deal with the brat! She...Would...

"Sure." Kitakami happily answered, raising the little Abyssal to her eye-level with a look as if a sister giving a lecture to a younger sibling. "Behave when you're being carried by Ooicchi, 'kay?" Surprisingly, Hoppo nodded.

Ooi blinked.

"Here~" The raven-haired Cruiser passed the little Princess over to Ooi who unconsciously held her under her little arms. It took a few seconds to process it.

"Oh! Um! Thank you, Kitakami-san!" Putting a grateful smile on, she waited for her ship sister to walk a bit forward before bringing the chibi-Abyssal up and glared...Only to falter a bit. Hoppo gave her a curious head-tilt that _screamed_ adorable and it lashed out at Ooi's defense, dealing a critical hit! Yet, the Cruiser's defense stood strong! With a minor crack. Clearing her throat, she redid her glare albeit less effective and whispered as harsh as she could. "Listen you, I don't know what you did to make Kitakami-san so familiar with you but I warn you, stay away-"

 _*Growl*_

Hoppo rubbed her belly with a free hand, her other still clutching onto the Zero she had. A cute pout formed on the little Princess's face as she looked down at her belly.

"...Hungu..." It was barely heard like a whisper and the mispronunciation made it just that more adorable.

 _No!_ Ooi shook her head. _Must resist!_ For some reason, her hands were shaking. There was this weird urge in her. A really strange and sudden one where she wants to just hug the captured Land Base to death out of adora- Wait! Ooi gulped, sweat lining her forehead. _This enemy is strong! Too strong!_ Tried as she did, it was hard to give a cold glare to the young Princess, even the effort put into it was wasted since the little Abyssal wasn't paying attention to it.

With a sigh, the Cruiser unconsciously turned Hoppo around and hefted her up slightly, supporting the smaller girl's bottom with her left arm and the other to steady her. At least she wasn't carrying her around like a stuffed toy. She didn't even know why she cared for the seemingly younger girl's comfort.

"Ah! We're here~" Kitakami's voice brought Ooi out of her thoughts as they neared a traditional-looking building with an open entrance. Dark blue cloth with the Kanji for 'food' 食物 was imprinted in white, displaying it clear as day while above the entrance was a wooden sign carved with the Hiragana of Mamiya's on it. The amazing and homey scent of Japanese cuisine escaped the open entrance and assaulted their nose, making even the Cruisers hungry.

Hoppo wiggled in Ooi's arms, making the older girl lightly glare at the ungrateful brat. She didn't care though. "Food..."

"Mm...This is making even me hungry." Kitakami patted her belly and grinned, gesturing towards the restaurant. "Let's go, Ooicchi~"

"A-ah! Okay!" Stuttering with the little Princess in her arms, Ooi jogged to catch up to Kitakami and followed her into the restaraunt.

"KYAAAAHHH!"

"ENEMY INSIDE THE BASE!"

"SOUND THE ALARM!"

Not this again...

* * *

Ryuujou was _not_ having a good day. Not at all. It was a bad- no, a _terrible-_ utterly a _rmageddon_ of a day for her. Why? Well, simple.

"HOUSHOU-SAN~!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as she darted everywhere around the base. The witnesses nearby blinked as something as fast as Japan's _Shinkansen_ shot past them, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

 _WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?!WHATDOIDO?!_ She had searched through literally every single building she believed the retired Light Carrier would be but so far the motherly veteran Ship Girl was nowhere to be found. Why didn't she remember what Houshou had to do earlier?! Why was everything on her right now?!

"I DON'T KNNNNOOOOWWWWWW~!"

Unknowingly, the twintailed Light Carrier charged past said motherly Light Carrier as she blinked, an arm holding up a weaved basket of vegetables. She looked back only to find a trail of dust, the figure that caused it too small to be seen.

"Ara, I wonder what happened?" Houshou wondered and shrugged, continuing on her way home, humming a tone. She looked up as her eyes brightened. "Maybe I should visit Mamiya's for a bit. I wonder how Mamiya-san and Irako-san had been."

With that in mind, the retired Light Carrier made a little detour to visit some old friends.

* * *

 _ **Hi~ I've extended this chapter a bit since I suddenly have an eureka moment on how to properly end this chapter! (I hope so...) But then I'm stuck at how to write the next chapter... *Lies down and rolls around in despair* Uuuu~ Writer's Blocks are so annoying! Anyway, at the moment the story will take a while to update so I'm sorry that the story won't have any set update schedule. I'm really glad that you guys are liking it though! It really makes me happy!**_

 _ **Anyway, I also have other stories for other stuff planned in the future so it wouldn't be surprising if I post those first instead of this. It's just that I've been distracted (a lot). The indefinite Hiatus will remain because I seriously don't know when will I be able to finish and update the next chapter. Sorry again! ;-;**_

 ** _Enough rambling! I'll see you next update! Baii~_**

 ** _-Vicky._**


End file.
